No More Words
by Tennie25
Summary: All Human, AU. Sookie falls in love and becomes engaged to a man almost thirty years older than her. What happens when she meets his son?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! So I thought I would take my first stab at an all human story. I'm still writing my other story so don't worry about if I am abandoning that. I honestly don't know how long this one will be. I haven't written a general outline so I'm taking it chapter by chapter. It's a crappy and no originality title, I stink at coming up with titles LOL I'm sure that there are dozens of more stories with it so here it is. **

**Sookie:**

"Stupid piece of shit lawn mower. Why the hell are you acting up now? Come on, just fucking work already...," I grumble to myself as I attempt to fix my grandmother's thirty year old lawn mower. I'm no mechanic by any means, but my stupid brother didn't show up today to fix it. Probably passed out in some random woman's bed.

I wipe the sweat off my brow and look up into the sky. It's too hot out today. I wish I was out swimming at the lake instead of sitting out here in this tortuous sun trying to fix an ancient lawnmower. I stand back up and try once more to get it going. After several attempts nothing happens.

"You piece of shit!" I yell.

I try to kick it but only end up hurting myself, "Ow, ow, ow!" I say, hopping around on one foot.

Looking at the grass, I let out a sigh and head back into the house.

The house feels like a frickin' oven. I sniff the air and can smell my grandmother's delicious baking. She must be making the desserts for her meeting tonight.

I walk into the kitchen to see her kneading some dough.

"Hi Gran!" I say giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hi honey, did you get the mower working?" she asks.

I sigh again, "No, I'll try again later on this afternoon. I got to head over to the school to get my lessons ready for the substitute tomorrow."

"Honey, don't worry about it," she smiles. "I'm sure Jason will be here soon to fix it."

I loved her optimism. I highly doubted that he was coming today.

I go up stairs and change into a sundress. After combing my hair, I head back downstairs, grab my keys and open the door.

"Bye Gran! I'll see you in a few hours!" I yell.

"Bye honey!" she hollers back.

I jump into the car and drive down the road heading towards the school. I loved my job. I was a grade one teacher and had the best students ever. I went to university in New Orleans when I was 17 and earned my teaching certificate. When I moved back home to Bon Temps, I took a job at the school as a casual substitute teacher. A little less than a year later, one of the senior teachers retired and they hired me to replace her. Now I was a full-time teacher with my own classroom.

For awhile I lived with Tara at an apartment we rented from Sam. But when my Gran got sick, I moved back home again without any hesitation to care for her. She had lived with my parents in the family home. They died a few years earlier in a car accident. Gran won't say, but I think that was one of the reasons why she got so ill. Her heart had broken when her only son, her only child, died.

But now she was on the mend. She smiled a lot more and was more cheerful.

I pull into the parking lot and walk into the school. I spend the next hour preparing lessons for Monday. I had a substitute filling in for me tomorrow because I was taking Gran to her doctor's appointment in Shreveport.

Once finished, I head home. I spend the rest of the evening reading my romance novel that had me addicted. Gran was at her meeting.

_His loins ached for her and she could feel a pool of moisture between her thighs... _I read the juicy part debating whether or not I should touch myself. A little pathetic, I know, but when you don't have a boyfriend you have to take care of your needs yourself. I rarely dated even when I was in high school. The boys thought I was a stuck up nerd so they never bothered to ask me out. Even when I went to university. I thought I had fully prepared myself to snag a boyfriend but struck out with them too. The guys were immature. They only wanted to party, drink beer and smoke weed. I did meet one guy that I thought was hot and perfect for me. His name was Alcide. We became friends at first, but I wanted more with him. I finally got the courage to ask him out one day. He face fell a little after I had asked him. He explained to me that he didn't want to date anyone and also because he didn't have the time. His father wanted him to focus on his studies because he would be taking over the business when he retired. I was a little upset about it but I still thought it was sweet how he turned me down gently. I didn't he was sweet anymore however, when one day I saw him making out with Debbie Pelt in the hallway at school. Later on that day I found out that they had gotten engaged recently. I went back to my dorm room and cried all day. Needless to say, I never bothered trying to get close to another guy again.

Yes, I was still a virgin and I was 23 years old. It was no secret. Everyone knew, even my Gran. She told me one time at dinner that I would meet a nice man who would 'deflower' and marry me. Jason and Tara were sitting across from me snickering afterwards. I had never been more embarrassed in my entire life.

Gran and I both wake up bright and early the next day. I make us breakfast and a few hours later we drive to Shreveport. She was meeting an eye specialist to check how much her eyesight had improved. Later, she was meeting another specialist for her heart.

She hums along to the radio as I drive down the highway. Some hours later we sit in the waiting room at the clinic waiting for the eye specialist. I help her onto the stool and the nurse and doctor examine her.

"Adele I can say with one hundred percent certainty that your retinas have become better," the doctor smiles. "You won't have to come to see me again for another year."

Gran and I are both ecstatic. "Thank you doctor," my Gran kindly says.

We leave his office and drive downtown towards another clinic. This doctor is a new one. Gran's other heart doctor moved to Switzerland a few months ago and referred her to this guy.

We walk into lobby and to his office. The receptionist tells us to take a seat. Gran pulls out her yarn and needle from her purse and I grab a magazine from the coffee table.

I skim through the magazine looking at the makeup and clothes ads when a man walks up to us. I take my eyes off the magazine and I first stare at his broad chest, then his legs. He is wearing a sky blue cotton polo shirt and khakis. I could tell that both his chest and long legs were quite muscular underneath his clothes. My heart speeds up and I start to blush.

"Adele Stackhouse?" he says. Oh my god, his voice is beautiful. So manly and strong.

I finally look up at his face and he is absolutely gorgeous. He has the most stunning blue eyes and short blonde hair with a hint of gray on the sides. His smile is equally stunning. Two rows of straight, gorgeous white teeth and full lips. I can see the light wrinkles on the corner of his eyes as he smiles down at us.

"He- hello," my Gran stammers. Even she is taken by him. We both stand up. He must be at least a foot taller than me.

"Hello, I am Dr. Mikael Northman," he says holding out his hand to Gran.

She shakes his hand and starts blushing. The only thing I do is stare at him with my mouth open. I somehow lost the will to speak.

He holds out his hand to me next; however I don't notice it at first.

"Sookie, where are your manners?" my Gran scolds.

I break out of my trance and finally gain some focus.

"Oh Oh, h-h-hi excuse me," I say plastering my nervous smile on my face. I touch his hand and right away I feel a spark. "I I I'm Sookie, Sookie Stackhouse. This is my Gran. I drove her here to support her and also because I love her. She is my gran, I love her because of that," I say stupidly. _Nice Sookie, now he must think you're retarded. _

"It's nice to meet you Miss Stackhouse," he says politely. I only realize then that I am still holding onto his hand, he gently lets go of my grip on him.

"You can call me Sookie," I say cheerfully.

"Sookie," he says smiling. I take a quick glance at his left hand. No wedding ring! I do a happy dance in my head.

"Ok, so why don't you ladies follow me," he says.

I stare at his ass as he leads us down to the examination room. _Yummy! _Gran nudges my arm and shakes her head. She must have caught me staring at his rear. _Busted!_

"Alright, I'll give you a few minutes Mrs. Stackhouse. Please put this dressing gown on, then we may begin the examination," he says.

He leaves and I help Gran out of her clothes. She lies back down on the table and Dr. Northman comes back into the room.

A little while later he finishes his tests, "The results won't be conclusive for at least a few more weeks but I can say in all honesty that you have improved dramatically since your last examination with Dr. Prince."

Gran smiles and I squeal like a little girl.

"You don't have to come back to see me for another six months. You can book another follow-up appointment with my secretary," he says.

"Thank you Dr. Northman," Gran sweetly says. "Sookie, why don't you go with Dr. Northman to book that appointment? I am able to dress myself," she smiles.

He turns towards the door and she winks at me.

He holds the door open for me and we leave the room.

"So Miss Stackhouse, do you mind me asking if you live in Bon Temps as well?" he says as we walk back to the waiting room.

"Yes I do and please call me Sookie. I live with her in my family's home. It's been in the Stackhouse family for generations," I smile.

"What do you do for a living?" he asks.

"I'm a primary school teacher. I teach grade one," I answer.

We stop at his secretary's desk. She is talking on the phone.

"Well Sookie, it was a pleasure to meet both you and your Gran," he says. He holds out his hand to me again and we shake. He quickly rubs my hand with his large thumb.

"I apologize for being so straight-forward but are you seeing anyone?" he asks not letting my hand go.

"Ummmm no, not anybody right now," I say with a huge grin on my face.

"I know that I am a little more older than you but I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me?" he asks. "Say this Friday?"

I take a couple seconds to think it over. "Ummmm yeah, I can do that. I don't have any plans for this weekend. And age difference doesn't really matter to me."

He flashes his brilliant smile. I think my panties are wet. "I'm glad to hear you say that Sookie. Well I need to make a few calls in my office, so I shall see you on Friday then."

"Wait! Don't you need my phone number?" I ask, worried.

"No I already have it. Since you live with your Gran, I have your phone number on file," he winks.

"Oh," I say sounding like a 14 year old girl.

"Have a good day Sookie and you can call me Mikael," he says and walks down the hall.

I wait for Gran and practically float out of the office with a dreamy smile on my face.

Things were starting to look up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sookie:**

"How old is this guy anyway?" Tara asks me as I apply some blush to my cheeks.

It was Friday night and Dr. Northman, Mikael, was coming to pick me up in an hour.

"I don't know Tara," I say exasperated. "He could be seventy for all I know, but in my opinion he would be the hottest seventy year old on the planet."

"Ewww..." she says, her face all scrunched up.

"Trust me, when you get a look at him, you'll be wanting to go out on a date with him too," I say. I lay my dress on my bed before crawling around the floor trying to look for my other brown sandal.

"Well I hope you know what you're doing," Tara says. "You don't have a lot of experience with men, especially older, mature men."

"Tara why are you on my case about this?" I say. I spot my sandal underneath my jeans under the bed. "This is my first date since the whole Remy Savoy disaster."

A little over a year ago I went on a date with a man named Remy Savoy who was probably in his early thirties. He was from Shreveport and I had met him through Jason. He was handsome and I thought I was lucky to find such a nice guy like him. We went to the movies then he took me to a bar afterwards where he proceeded to get shit-faced. He tried to grope me, especially my boobs. The date from hell was capped off when his wife, Hadley (whom I didn't know about), showed up. She accused me of being a homewrecker and a whore. Afterwards she punched me in the face and walked out with her husband. I never went out with any of Jason's friends or acquaintances again.

"You see? That's why I'm worried about you," she says. "He could already have a wife and five kids that he's hiding."

"Don't worry Tara I'll be fine," I tell her reassuringly.

Tara goes downstairs and I put my pink, paisley printed dress with spaghetti straps on. I flick my hair back a few times to give it some extra volume.

"Sookie, honey, Dr. Northman is here," Gran says loudly from downstairs.

"I'll be right down," I yell back. I grab my purse and white sweater and head downstairs.

I can hear Tara's flirty laugh and talking coming from the family room. I walk into the room to find Tara sitting beside Mikael and Gran sitting on her chair listening to them talk.

He stands up right away as soon as he sees me and smiles. "You look beautiful Sookie."

"You don't look so bad yourself," I smile back. And he didn't. He was wearing a casual tailored suit in charcoal gray.

He comes up to me and kisses my hand. "These are for you and your Gran," he says pointing towards the bouquet of flowers that were sitting on the coffee table in a vase.

"Thank you, they look beautiful," I say politely.

"Are you ready to go," he asks.

"Yes I am," I smile.

Gran and Tara follow us to the foyer.

"Sookie, you are a grown woman now so I don't need to tell you what time to come home," Gran says.

We all lightly laugh. "Mrs. Stackhouse, I promise to bring your granddaughter back home at a decent hour," he says.

He opens the door for me and we walk down the stairs towards his car, a red corvette.

"Nice ride," I comment.

"Thank you, it was a gift," he says.

We drive towards Shreveport. He turns off to another road just outside the city. We drive down the narrow road for about twenty minutes before reaching a beautiful white plantation style house. He parks in the drive way and turns off the engine.

"Is this your house?" I ask him curiously.

"Yes. I bought it about ten years ago. I had it fixed and completely remodelled three years ago," he answers.

He leads me inside and gives me a tour of the first floor. It was wonderful. I stare at the pictures in his study. I examine one closely. It was him as a young man holding two small cute kids in each arm.

"Pardon me sir, but dinner is ready," an older man says standing by the doorway.

"Come Sookie," Mikael says holding out his hand for me.

"I hope you will like it," he says as we both settle down into our seats in the screened porch on the other side of the house. "My chef prepared some sea food for us."

The butler brings out our first course. It smells delicious.

"It looks yummy," I say smiling down at my plate.

We finish the first course and the butler brings out the main course, lobster.

I dive right into my food.

"So tell me a little bit more about yourself Sookie," he says.

I chew and swallow a piece of lobster. "Well as you know I live with my Gran and have one brother. I'm 23, going to be 24 in about four months. I went to university in New Orleans for four years and I got a job at the school in Bon Temps. I have a few good friends, Tara is one of them. Other than that, there really isn't much else to say. What about you?"

"I just turned 49 a couple months ago. I am originally from Stockholm, Sweden. I moved to the states about 15 years ago after my wife died," he says sounding a little sad.

"I'm so sorry," I say.

"It is fine," he says. "She died of ovarian cancer after a long battle. She remained positive and happy for us despite the pain that she was in."

"Are those pictures in your house of your kids?" I ask referring to the photos in the study.

"Yes," he says, his eyes twinkling. "Although they are no longer small. Pamela is the name of my daughter. She lives and works as a model in New York. My son is named Eric. He still lives in Stockholm and runs a few nightclubs there. He was the one that bought me the corvette for my birthday a few years back. They're twins and turned 26 last year."

Great, his kids were older than me.

"This does not bother you does it?" he asks with questioning eyes.

"No, no," I say. "I was just a little shocked that you have grown-up kids. You don't look that old."

He laughs. "I'm still in shock everyday as well that my kids are now adults and on their own. I was 23 when my wife gave birth to them."

We finish dinner and dessert is brought out to us.

"I'm stuffed," I groan happily after chewing on my last bite of cake. I wash it down with a sip of champagne.

We take a walk outside to his garden. We sit down on a bench and talk and laugh for a couple hours about everything. He said that he was going to retire in about six years. He told me a little more about his family. I talked about my parents. Time flies by and before we both know it, it's almost midnight.

"I should be getting home," I say glancing down at my watch. "Gran will be worried."

"You're probably right," he says. He holds my hand and walks me back to the house. We get into his car and he drives me home.

He opens the car door for me and walks me up to the porch.

"Thank you for the lovely evening. I had a really great time," I say turning around to face him.

"No, thank you Sookie. It has been awhile since I had last enjoyed being with someone else," he whispers to me.

I tilt my head upwards to him. He leans down and places his lips on mine. His lips are so soft. I open my mouth slightly and his tongue caresses mine. We stand there holding each other and making out for several minutes until I hear the door creaking open. Gran peaks her head out and shuts the door right after.

I giggle as he leans his forehead against mine.

"I should probably go inside," I say breathlessly. My arms are around his waist. His are over my shoulders.

"I hope you will let me take you out again Sookie," he says.

"I would like that," I respond grinning.

And that was it. For the next five weeks we were together at every moment we could find. Mikael would drive up Bon Temps almost every night just to come see me. He had dinner at my house with me and Gran and sometimes Jason. Of course Jason would tease me relentlessly about our age difference, but I didn't care. He was perfect. He was so well-mannered and cared about the same things that I did; on top of that he was so gorgeous and strong. He worked out everyday by lifting weights and running and ate healthy foods. We got to know each other more and more as time went by. I even spent a couple nights at his house. I slept in the guest bedroom. We hadn't taken the next step and he never pressured me into sex. I hadn't told him yet that I was a virgin. Of course he probably knew that already, given that I had told him all about my track record when it came to dating.

We had become so close that I wanted to take that next important step in our relationship. I wanted him to be my first. I spent all of Saturday morning thinking up ways on how to bring the issue up.

I could lay spread eagle naked on his bed and offer myself to him. I giggle at myself. Yeah he would either think it was hot or that I was nuts.

I drink a glass of apple juice and sit at the table waiting for Mikael. He was taking me out for an afternoon picnic outside of town. I take the last sip and hear a car pulling up in front of the house. I put the glass in the sink and walk to the front door.

"Hey!" I say loudly greeting him as he gets out of the car.

"Hello," he smiles at me. He walks up to me and picks me up, laying a passionate kiss on my lips.

"Is your grandmother inside?" he asks as he puts me down on my feet.

"No, she went to town to run some errands. Jason is driving her around today," I say, playing with the collar of his shirt.

We kiss a little bit more before heading into the house. I grab my things and lock the door.

"So what did the cook make for us today?" I ask. We are in the car going to our destination.

"Nothing. I made our lunch myself," he smiles as he puts on his sunglasses.

"Oh no, I hope you packed the tums," I joke. He had one minor flaw; he couldn't cook at all. I had wondered why he employed a chef when I was first getting to know him. Esther was about his age. She was not only his cook but also his housekeeper.

"Don't worry. Esther supervised as I prepared the salad," he says grinning.

We stop on the side of a dirt road. We walk for about ten minutes. He carries the picnic basket and I carry the sheet and white wine.

We both lay out the sheet and he spreads the food out. The food didn't taste too bad, although the luncheon meat was a tad too salty.

Afterwards I lie against him enjoying my glass of wine and the cool summer breeze. This was heavenly and nothing could make this moment even more perfect; or so I thought.

"Sookie there was something that I wanted to discuss with you," he says.

I turn around to face him. He has a serious look on his face.

"Okay," I say worriedly. Was he dumping me? Did he think I was too young for him? I knew this was too good to be true!

"Don't worry Sookie, it isn't anything bad. At least I don't think it is," he smiles taking my hands in his.

"Sookie you have made me the happiest man during these past five weeks. I didn't even realize how unhappy I was before I met you. I wanted you to know that I love you. I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you," he says.

I am shocked but also ecstatic. Did he just say that he loved me? Tears of joy fall down my face as I realize I felt the same way. "I love you too," I whisper. "I've never met anyone as wonderful as you."

He laughs nervously and clears his throat. "Good, because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know it seems too soon, but I am absolutely positive about this."

He sticks his hand in the basket and pulls out a black velvet box. I hold in my breath.

He opens the box. Inside is a beautiful, platinum ring with one large, round white diamond. There a clusters of smaller diamonds around it.

He takes the ring from the box. "Sookie will you marry me?"

I almost hyperventilate. "Yes!" I say completely happy and excited. I practically jump onto his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. We kiss and he puts the ring on my left hand.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and we make out again. He loved me completely. I lean against him afterwards and trace my finger across his chest. I had finally gotten what I wanted after years of being alone and thinking that no one wanted me. I look into his eyes and think to myself this was it. _How could I love anyone more than him?_

**Eric:**

I hate numbers. I re-add the totals again but they don't match up. I was still trying to balance the books and I also had to finish the payroll. It was almost 4 am and the waitresses and bartenders were still out there in the bar waiting for their pay cheques.

I punch in the numbers on the calculator again but still I get the same damn figure. A minute later my phone rings. I look at the number; it's Pam.

"Hey there little brother," she says. She was older than me by ten minutes.

I sigh, "Hello Pam. What's up?"

"Nothing. Do I need a reason now to call you?" she says.

I smile. "No, but usually when you do call me, you only want something or to tell me gossip that I could care less about," I respond.

"Ahh well you might be interested in this," she says. "Have you talked to dad lately?"

"Ahh no, I have been busy," I say as I punch in some numbers again.

"Well he called me earlier and said that he's been trying to get a hold of you for the past week."

"I was out of town," I answer back.

"Okay who was she and please don't tell me it was Sophie-Anne," she groans.

Sophie-Anne was my on again/off again girlfriend of the past eight years. I had met her in our first year of university. I was young and I wanted to date other women still. She accepted that. I guess it was because she loved me. I cared about her but I couldn't tell if I loved her back. Currently we were off again.

"No Pam and for the record, there was no woman. I went up to the cabin alone to clear my head," I tell her.

"Oh," she says. The cabin was a part of our family and had been for years. My grandfather and his father built it. We went up there every summer with my dad and mother. Pam hasn't been up there since our mother died.

"Well I've got some news," she says cheerfully. "I'll wait till you're sitting."

"I'm sitting down already," I say.

"Ok here it comes. I talked to dad today. Apparently he was trying to get a hold of me too but I've been busy with Amelia and work. He had some news for me, for us." She pauses.

"Well what is it?" I ask punching more numbers into the calculator.

"He's getting married," she says. Right away I drop my pencil and sheet of paper. Words cannot describe how stunned I am. I lean back on my chair trying to process the news.

"What?" I finally say. "To who?"

"I don't know. He just gave me her name. Snooki or Pooki, something like that. Sounds like she's a redneck with parents who are first cousins. Apparently she's the granddaughter of one of his patients."

I stare at the family picture that is on my desk. It was one of me, Pam and dad that was taken three years ago. It was a rare photo; we hardly took family photos ever since my mother passed away.

"How old is she?" I ask.

"I don't know. She must be young, maybe in her thirties. I didn't ask him," she says.

Great! Sounds like a gold-digger. We were wealthy. We were wealthy enough that we didn't have to work, but we did. We each found careers that we loved, well most of the time.

"He wants us both to come down to Louisiana to meet her and her family," she adds.

I'm still shocked, unable to speak.

"Hello? Are you still there?" she asks sounding annoyed.

"Are you going?" I finally say.

"Yes but not for another three weeks. I have photoshoots in Hong Kong that have been scheduled months ago. So me and Amelia will probably fly down after that." Amelia Broadway was her girlfriend. She was also a model.

"I can leave in two days," I blurt out. I didn't want to leave but I needed to find out about this woman. I had already taken a week off of work just recently. I guess I will be handing out more bonuses to my employees.

"Great! See what you can find out about this woman. She better not just be after his money," she says in a furious tone. We thought alike, my twin and I.

"I love you Pam," I tell her.

"I love you too," she says.

We hang up and I stare at the picture again. The old man was getting married. That was a shocker. I think he only dated one woman after mom died and that was years ago.

I take my wallet out of my back pocket and click on the internet browser. I typed in the airline website and book a plane ticket to Louisiana with my credit card.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sookie:**

I was engaged! I still couldn't believe it. For the past several days I had a permanent smile plastered on my face. Gran was extremely happy for us but also a little sad. This meant that I would be moving in with Mikael once we were married. He surprised both Gran and I when he offered her some rooms in his house, but she declined. She didn't want to leave the Stackhouse home. He shocked us even further when he offered to move into our house. Gran appreciated the gesture but told us that we needed to have space and time for ourselves and build our own home together as a couple. When I broke the news to Jason he was shocked but then went back to acting like an imbecile by teasing me about my fiancé's age. He was in the middle of telling me that I would be changing my husband's diapers when Mikael walked up behind him without him knowing. Mikael frightened him and whispered something in his ear. Jason walked off startled and hasn't teased me since.

Mikael had called me earlier this afternoon asking me to come over to his house that evening. He said he needed to discuss some important issues with me. I leave work and drive up to his house outside Shreveport thinking about what it could be. I know that he had been trying to get a hold of his kids to tell them about me but wasn't successful. Maybe he finally did get a hold of them and now he was going to tell me that they didn't approve of me due to my age. I sigh. I wouldn't blame them. If he was my father, I would be wary of a new stepmother a couple years younger than me. It could also be about a prenuptial agreement. I hated the idea. To me it was like a guarantee that our marriage would end in divorce. Marriage in my opinion was literally 'until death do us part'. I wasn't going to get divorced. Or perhaps he wanted to talk about sex. He never brought up the subject and neither have I. I still wasn't yet on any birth control anyway. I never needed any birth control before since I had no boyfriend. My appointment was over a week from now for that. Speaking of birth control, kids were also another issue we haven't dealt with. I wanted them; I wasn't sure if he did since he already had two grown kids. There were a lot of things that I didn't think about until now. I was too overjoyed about the engagement to consider what our marriage was going to be like.

My happiness is deflated a little as I pull into the driveway in front of his house. Mikael is standing outside the door smiling and waving.

"Hi," I say as I start to get out of my car. I notice another car on the other side of the driveway that I never saw before.

"Hey, beautiful," he says. He gives me a sweet kiss and leads me into the house.

He leads me into the living room and there is a small bald man in an expensive looking suit sitting on the sofa. He gets up as I enter the room.

"Hello, you must be Miss Sookie Stackhouse. I am Damon Cataliades, a long-time friend of Mikael and his lawyer," he says politely offering his hand.

I glance at Mikael feeling confused and I shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you." I guess he did want a prenuptial agreement after all. He sits down and Mikael and I sit on the sofa across from him.

"Mikael asked me to come over and discuss with you some changes that he made to his personal estate," he says.

"Oh," I say still confused.

He pushes some papers in front of me on the coffee table. I pick them up and glance them over still not knowing what was going on. I didn't see the words 'prenup' anywhere.

"Those are Mikael's new will and the legal documents that entitle you to half of his estate," he says. "In the unfortunate event that he dies, you will get 50% of his estate while his children will each receive 25%. And since you and he will be married soon, he has legally entitled you to half of his personal fortune. Your name has been included in all of his personal accounts."

I stare blankly at the piece of paper feeling like I was going to faint. I look at the number of zeros that were now beside me and Mikael's name.

"That's a lot," I squeak out.

"Yes well to make it official, I need your signature on a couple of documents," he says, drawing out some papers from his folder.

"Ummm wait, can't I think about this for a moment?" I say bewildered.

He looks at Mikael and Mikael looks at me.

"Of course I will you two a minute to talk things over," he says. He gets up and heads to another room.

After he leaves I stand up and pace the floor. "What is this all about Mikael? I mean I didn't know that you had that much money and I certainly didn't expect that from you."

Mikael stands up and stops me by placing his hands on my shoulders. "Sookie, I want to give you everything that I have. Soon you will be my wife and my equal partner. We're going to be building a future together and the way that I figure how to start that is to share everything that I have with you."

I close my eyes and sigh. "That's a sweet thought, but what about what everyone else will say? I mean will your kids be happy about you giving away half your fortune to some woman they don't know? People will think I'm a money grubbing gold digger!"

"I don't care what other people think. As for my children, they will come to understand my decisions after they have gotten to know you," he says reassuringly. He pulls me into a hug and kisses my forehead.

A moment later I break away and move back. "Well I don't think this is such a good idea. I can't help but care about what other people think. I don't want to be always walking into a room full of people staring at me and whispering hurtful things about me behind my back. Because that's what will happen Mikael."

His eyes narrow, "No one will ever think anything awful about you Sookie. I will make sure of that."

I turn around to face the window overlooking the lawn in the back. "Can you at least wait to do this until after we are married? I just need time to get used to the idea," I say as I turn back to face him.

He thinks about it for a minute before smiling, "Alright Sookie. We will wait to do this until after we are married. Speaking of that, we still haven't decided on a date yet."

I smile back at him. "Yeah we should probably think about that. At least there will be more time for me since school is going to over in about a week."

"Why don't you think about that right now while I talk to Damon? There are some other things that I needed to go through with him," he says.

"Okay," I smile and give him a quick hug and kiss.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he says. He leaves and heads to his study.

I stand there watching him leave. Afterwards I close my eyes and let out a deep breath. I decide to go outside and get some air.

The sun is just setting and it is breathtaking. I squint a bit watching the sun set over the field and rows of trees. When should we get married? This summer? I had more time since the summer holidays was about to start. But did I want to get married so quickly? I hadn't even met his kids yet. I didn't know if he had any other living relatives.

I am so lost in my thoughts that I don't notice right away someone standing by watching me.

"Enchanting view isn't it?" a voice says.

I swiftly turn to my side and see a tall blonde man standing there. My heart rate and breathing speeds up as I take in the sight of this stunning man. He was just as tall as Mikael and had the same build, but maybe even a little more muscular. His hair was the same shade of blonde as Mikael's but was shoulder length. His eyes and facial features were identical to Mikael as well. This must be his son Eric.

"Ye – yes it is, it's stunning," I stutter.

He comes closer to me and I get an even a better look at him. He was probably the most beautiful man I have ever seen; aside from my fiancé.

"I just arrived from Sweden," he says giving me a dazzling smile. "I didn't expect to see someone as exquisite as you to greet me upon my arrival."

I smile like an idiot at his flirting attempt. "Uhhh, your dad is inside I think. Probably in his study."

He just raises his eyebrow, still smiling flirtatiously. "That's good but I think I'd rather stay out here with you for a little while longer." He stands closer to me which causes me to laugh nervously.

"My name is Eric," he says.

"Yeah I know," I answer.

He raises his eyebrow again. "Are you Esther's daughter?" he asks, his voice more huskier.

He stands even closer and I can feel his breath on my cheek as he leans down. My temperature zooms up. "Ummm, no I'm not."

I tilt my head up to look him in the eyes. They were definitely the same colour as Mikael's. I could smell the scent of his skin. His hair looked so soft and for a brief moment I imagine myself running my fingers through it.

Our moment is then interrupted by a woman clearing her voice.

"Excuse me, Miss Stackhouse, but Dr. Northman was wondering if you were hungry. I prepared some sandwiches and soup for you. He ate earlier. Hello Eric, there is more than enough there for you if you are hungry too," she says. She stares at the both of us with accusing eyes for a few more seconds before going back inside.

"You're Snooki Stackhouse?" he says astounded.

I'm a little flustered too. "Yes my name is _Sookie_ Stackhouse. I'm engaged to your father."

He just stares at me, taken aback. "How old are you?"

"I'm old enough," I quickly answer. I start to walk inside. "Aren't you coming?" I ask turning my head back to him.

He continues to stand there staring at me before he follows me inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey another chapter in as many days! I think it helps when I don't write an outline of my expectations for a chapter and just go with the flow. Plus I'm actually looking for ways to avoid real life nowadays so I do this LOL I'll write another chapter for my other story sometime later this week.**

**Eric:**

Shreveport, Louisiana... Don't get me wrong, I loved this town, but when my father told me he was moving down here, I thought he had finally lost it. We were living in New Haven, Connecticut when dad told us that he bought some land and a really old house down in Louisiana. He told us that it would be our vacation home during the summer holidays. Naturally Pam and I balked at his idea. During the holidays, we always enjoyed going home to Stockholm. One summer dad convinced us that it would be a great idea to visit the new (well old, run-down) house that he had bought. It was horrible. Pam didn't even take one step into the house before demanding to stay in a hotel. He was disappointed and saddened with our reaction. When we turned 18, he decided to permanently move to Louisiana. By that time Pam and I were in university. I never came back here until I was 21. The house was still in bad shape but was more liveable than previously. Every year after that I would try to at least come down to visit once. Eventually the place grew on me as it seemed peaceful and laidback. It didn't grow on Pam however.

I pull my rental into the driveway. There are already several cars parked. A black BMW, the red corvette I bought for my dad, his silver SUV and another car which looked to be about ten years old. I walk towards the car and examine it briefly. I smile when I see an Elvis Presley bobblehead on the dashboard. I didn't tell my dad that I was arriving tonight, so I decide to surprise him. I walk around the house to go through the back door. I turn the corner and that's when I see the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen in my life. She was stunning. She was gazing towards the sunset. The dimming light shined around her long, wavy golden hair. It was the exact shade of mine. She was wearing a white and red floral print sundress that went down to her knees. It was tight enough that I could see the outline of her luscious curves. She was wearing a small white cardigan sweater over it but it was also tight enough that I took notice of her large, round breasts. She looked like an angel. I walk a little closer to her but she still doesn't notice me. I take the moment to stare at her a little longer. She looked like she was deep in thought and was troubled. I decide to make myself known.

"Enchanting view isn't it?" I say to her.

She turns around quickly. If I thought her figure was spectacular, the full view of her face was something else. She was much more beautiful than any of the models or actresses that my sister worked with or that I had dated. She had full pouty lips that were blush pink, a heart-shaped face and light blue eyes. The expression on her face was that of shock. I could tell that I was affecting her by the sound of her increased breathing and the blush in her cheeks. She takes a few seconds longer before finally speaking.

"Ye – yes it is, it's stunning," she stutters. I thought her Southern accent was attractive.

I step even closer to her. From this close distance I could smell her heavenly scent.

_Perhaps coming to Shreveport wasn't such a terrible idea at all. _If paying my loyal employees a few extra dollars in order to come (no pun intended), she made it worth it. I decide to up my game. Oh yes, my face was going to be between her thighs as early as tonight.

"I just arrived from Sweden," I say giving her my finest smile. "I didn't expect to see someone as exquisite as you to greet me upon my arrival."

My attempt to charm her produces a smile from her. She was mine. "Uhhh, your dad is inside I think. Probably in his study," she says.

_She knew who I was! _Of course I looked incredibly like a younger version of my father; but the fact that she knew me made me almost giddy inside like a 13 year old girl. "That's good but I think I'd rather stay out here with you for a little while longer," I respond. There was no way I was going into that house without wrapping my arms around her and tasting her lips first. I move closer and she laughs a little. I was making her nervous in a good way.

"My name is Eric," I tell her. I was being polite but I also wanted to know her name. Could this be Esther's (my father's housekeeper) daughter? I vaguely remember Esther mentioning that a few years ago but I never met her. Fuck! I should have come to Shreveport more often. All that time wasted...

"Yeah I know," she answers. _She knew my name!_

"Are you Esther's daughter?" I ask, just to be sure.

I begin leaning down towards her as she answers, "Ummm no, I'm not."

As I get closer to her she tilts her head and looks into my eyes. I lose myself in her blue eyes and the scent of her hair and skin that I forget to ask for her name. We gaze into each other's eyes for a moment longer until the spell is broken by someone standing by the door.

"Excuse me, Miss Stackhouse, but Dr. Northman was wondering if you were hungry. I prepared some sandwiches and soup for you. He ate earlier. Hello Eric, there is more than enough there for you if you are hungry too," the woman at the door says. She looks towards the woman at the door but I keep my gaze fixated on her. _Wait, did she say Miss Stackhouse? Oh fucking hell, it couldn't be..._

"You're Snooki Stackhouse?" I ask, my voice a little higher than normal.

"Yes my name is _Sookie_ Stackhouse. I'm engaged to your father."

I am momentarily stunned. She looked young, way too young for my old man. There was no way she was older than me. "How old are you?" I finally manage to say.

"I'm old enough," she snaps back. She starts to walk inside. Just before she enters the house she says, "Aren't you coming?"

I stand there disorientated before following her into the house.

She walks through the family room and towards the dining room. I follow her slowly trying not to stare at the sway of her hips but it was difficult. Her ass was remarkable.

She sits down on the side of the table and puts the napkin on her lap. I take the seat across from her and continue to gawk at her. Sookie fiddles around with the cutlery; I could tell that she was trying hard not to look up.

"Hasn't anyone told you that it's not polite to stare," she says, her accent a little thicker and irritated.

"Forgive me," I tell her. She finally looks up at me and I give her another one of my charming smiles, "It's just that you surprised me. I expected someone a lot older."

She clears her throat. "You mean your father hasn't discussed anything about me with you?"

"No, I haven't spoken to him for several weeks. I have been busy with work and other things. I found out from my sister about you. To find out that my father had gotten recently engaged was a shocker, to say the least."

"Oh," she says. "Well I've only known your father for about six weeks now. It's been a whirlwind," she smiles.

"How did you two meet?"

"Uhh, my grandmother had an appointment with him and I was her escort. He asked me out on a date and I said yes and that lead to us spending more time together and then well..." she said quickly. "We fell in love and he asked me to marry him and I said yes."

"After only six weeks of knowing each other?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," she says firmly. "The more I learned about him, the more I realized that he was the most wonderful man in the world."

_The more you learned about him eh? I bet she realized how wonderful he was when she saw the size of his checking account. _"Forgive me again Miss Stackhouse, but I need to ask this question: don't you think that getting engaged to someone after knowing them for only a few weeks is a little absurd?"

She slightly frowns; I think that I hit a nerve. "No Mr. Northman. You don't choose who you fall in love with, it just happens. And like I said before, your father is the most wonderful man that I have ever met. I knew when I first met him that he would be the only man I could ever imagine sharing my life with. We love each other deeply and we want to begin our life together as soon as possible."

"Well to me it doesn't seem right," I say with a hint of anger as I lean forward on the table. "Not only has this whole ridiculous engagement happened too quickly, but it's also a little suspicious that a woman at your age would attach herself to a man who isn't exactly in the same demographic age category as she. Tell me, when did you decide that you would sink your claws into my father? Was it before or after you found out how rich he was?"

Her facial expression turns to anger. "How dare you!" she seethes. "How dare you make insinuations about me! You don't even know me!"

"You're right, I don't know you. But I think I have lived long enough to know when a young sexy woman like yourself would use that to her advantage in order to snag herself a rich, lonely old man who could buy her expensive things," I counter.

"Eric! That's enough!" my dad growls angrily behind me.

I stand up and face him.

He walks up to me, his face full of rage, "You will apologize to Sookie right now. Do I make myself clear?"

I flinch at the look on his face; 26 years old and I was still afraid of my dad.

I turn around to face Sookie who is standing also. "I apologize Miss Stackhouse for upsetting you. But I only care about my father and his well-being."

Her face softens a little. "I accept your apology Mr. Northman, please call me Sookie."

"Thank you Sookie. You can call me Eric," I say.

My dad walks around the table and takes her into his arms. She presses herself against him as he kisses her forehead. I have never felt so envious and angry in my whole life.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I lied. I said I would have another chapter for my other story but i don't. I never realized how fucking hard it is to write two stories. I sat at my desk for a half hour trying to punch out a chapter, but nothing. I don't know how other writers can do it; write two stories at the same time. But oh well, for sure though I will write the chapter for my other story next.**

**Eric:**

I didn't know what to say. Watching my dad comfort Sookie across from me was difficult. Ten minutes had not even passed since I was hitting on her in the backyard. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my whole life and my dad had her. Of course I didn't expect a woman like her to be single, but it hurt knowing that it was my father that she was attached to. I was angry too. I was angry that this young woman somehow seduced and manipulated my dad into proposing marriage after a short time. How did she do it? Was she a good fuck in bed or something? I didn't blame him. Hell I probably would have asked her to marry me after only a few weeks. If I ever decided to marry, she would have been at the top of my list despite just meeting her. But my dad has always been cautious. He never made any rash decisions (other than moving down here). I was angry with myself as well. Despite the fact that I was certain Sookie was using my father for her own gain, I still thought she was the hottest woman on the planet.

He whispers comforting words in her ear and she puts her hands on his upper arms closing her eyes. Were they always this affectionate? When did she first have sex with him? Was it on their first date? How often? All these questions bombarded my mind. I hated the idea of her being with him that way. I literally felt sick to the stomach.

"I should probably go home; Gran must be worried. I didn't tell her I was coming here tonight," Sookie mumbles against him.

"Nonsense my dear. You are too tired to drive back. Stay here for the night," my dad says. I can feel the shitty airplane food making its way up my esophagus.

She yawns and glances at me. She blushes a little and breaks away from my dad. "Okay I'll just go up to the guest room, take a quick shower and call Gran," she smiles at him.

Guest room? Was she uncomfortable to stay in his room because I was here?

"Alright, my dear. I will see you soon," he says gently.

She walks around the table. "Goodnight Eric," she says before leaving the room.

"Goodnight Sookie," I say with a hoarse throat.

My father stands there glaring at me. He puts his hands on the table and leans forward. "Sookie is going to be my wife and I expect you to treat her with nothing but kindness, respect, and courtesy. Am I understood?" he says fiercely.

"But dad..." I begin to say.

"Am I understood?" he says even more fiercely.

I am starting to get angry. "I only love and care about you dad. I was just trying to look out for you."

"I don't need your concern no matter how thoughtful it may be. You don't even know Sookie and after only a few minutes, you insult her!" he growls.

"What was I supposed to think?" I yell. "Here I meet this woman who can't possibly be more than 25 saying that the two of you were getting married. I mean come on, obviously she is after your money!"

He clenches his fists, takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. I could tell he was trying to keep himself calm. "Eric, I love you and you are my only son. But do not, I repeat, do not go against me on this matter. If you say that you care about me, then you will try to get to know her for my sake. She is one of the most important people in my life and will remain so for the rest of my days. You better get your act together or else!"

He basically said that he would choose Sookie over me. I was pissed. I was so pissed that I needed to get the hell out of there.

"Ok, fine whatever. Marry her, make a complete ass of yourself, I don't care. Just don't expect me to sit back and watch you flush your life completely down the toilet," I rage. Deep down I knew I was lying. Sookie seemed like a person who could fill your day with sunshine and happiness, even at your low point. She could probably make your whole existence complete.

I start to leave and walk to the foyer.

"Eric, don't leave like this," my dad calls out behind me.

I dash to my rental car, jump in and peel out of the driveway. I reach the highway and turn right. Before I know it, I'm driving down the highway at 80 miles per hour. What the fuck was I going to do now? Go to the airport, jump on a plane back to Sweden and never talk to my father again? Tears brim my eyes at the thought. I couldn't do that. I had already lost one parent. I didn't want to lose another, especially since he was still alive.

I reach a small shit-town in the middle of nowhere and pull into the first convenience store I could find. I walk in, buy a 12 pack of beer (ugh! disgusting!) and ask the cashier where the nearest bar was.

I knew what I was going to do next. I was going to get piss drunk, find the best looking woman in the bar and fuck her until I felt better about everything. Then I would go back to my dad's house and apologize.

The cashier directs me to a place not far and I am back in my rental heading towards the bar. I walk in and take a stool at the bar. I order a scotch and look around the room. It was absolutely pathetic. These people looked like vermin. But I spy a couple of good looking women already staring at me, trying to make eye contact.

"Hey there stranger, I don't think I have ever seen you in here before," a woman behind me asks.

I turn around to face her. She had dark brown hair and a decent rack. She was attractive but I had better. I deliberate for a few quick seconds in my head; she would do.

"My name's Dawn," she says. She fluffs her hair, trying to look sexy.

"Hello Dawn, my name is Eric," I smile.

I chat with her for about twenty minutes; well, she was doing the chatting, while I was to some extent listening. I was starting to get bored.

"So Dawn, do you want to leave with me now or should we take a rain check?" I whisper in her ear. I intentionally breathe hot air into her ear causing her to squirm.

"Yeah, your place or mine?" she asks with a huge smile on her face.

Did I want to go to her house? I had a rule never to go to a woman's place unless I really knew them. This broad was a complete stranger.

"How about we get into my car and decide from there?" I respond. "Maybe you can tell me where the nearest motel is."

She giggles, "I know a few places."

We walk out the bar holding each other. I put my hand on her ass. Once we reach my car, I lean her against the passenger door and kiss her.

She starts moaning and wrestling with my tongue. Her kissing was a little sloppy. I could taste the beer (ugh!) in her mouth and the cigarette (I guess she smoked). She bites my tongue with her sharp teeth.

Immediately I pull away from her.

"What's wrong sugar?" she asks breathing heavily.

"Dawn, I don't think this is going to work out," I say.

"What? What do you mean?" she responds. Okay, obviously not the most brightest girl.

"I mean I don't think that this is going to happen between us. I need to get going," I say.

She looks peeved. "You asshole!" She hits my chest before scuttling back into the bar.

I sigh and jump back into my car. I drive back to the highway and head towards my dad's house. _l guess that I'll just get drunk in the back and pass out upstairs. _Luckily I still had my house key.

By the time I reach the house, it is almost midnight. I open the front door and all the lights were out. Great, everyone is sleeping, including Sookie. She must be curled up against my dad. I shudder at the thought. I take my beer and head out to the terrace in the back. I sit on one of the patio chairs and crack open a can.

I take a sip and lean back. It was a peaceful night. Not too hot and not too cold. I could hear the crickets and the frogs coming from the stream that was not too far from here.

Pam wasn't going to be happy for dad. If he thought that my reaction was bad, Pam's was going to be worse. She would not like the fact that her soon-to-be stepmom was younger than her, not one bit at all. I know that I was going to have to diffuse the situation as soon as possible before she started World War 3. I decide to call her.

I take my phone out of my pocket and dial her number.

She answers on the third ring. "Hey loser, I was waiting for you to call me. So give me the details."

I pause for a moment. "Well she seems nice."

"Nice?" she scoffs. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Just what I mean. She is the stereotypical, good American, southern belle. She's beautiful and has a lot of charm."

"Really, how old is she?" she asks.

Oh fuck! What was my answer? "She's younger than you initially thought."

"How young?" she says lowly. I can almost see her gritting her teeth.

"Like maybe in her mid-twenties or so," I answer quickly.

She is silent, deadly silent. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she yells. "He is marrying some fucking redneck bimbo?"

"Pam..." I say but she interrupts me.

"Who the fuck is she Eric? How much has dad spent on this fucking inbred bitch already?"

"Pam!" I yell. "This is what dad wants. You should see him. I've never seen him this happy since mom."

She says nothing but I can hear her breathing into the phone.

"Eric, you know that we have to do something about this," she says calmly.

I knew what she was thinking. "Pam, don't even try. I don't think dad would forgive you if you did something to jeopardize his relationship."

"Eric, this is our father. OUR FATHER. We can't let some gold-digging ho sweep in and take everything from him. You know it would break him," she says. "We have to act fast Eric. Before they go through with it."

I think about it for a moment. She was right; we needed to do something, but it had to be a plan that didn't end up with him hating the both of us.

"What do you have in mind?" I ask.

She laughs maliciously. "Simple, we will make her change her mind about marrying dad."

"How do you plan on doing that? You haven't even met her," I scoff.

"Oh I'm not going to do anything," she says, "It's going to be all you. We will make her fall in love with you."

"Me? Are you fucking joking? I'm not going to risk dad hating my guts for the rest of his life," I yell.

"Don't worry Eric. We will do it in a subtle way that she will fall in love with you and decide that she doesn't want to marry him. She will then come unto you and we will make sure that dad sees it. He will see her as the whore she is and throw her out," she says evilly.

"No fucking way Pam. It's too risky. What if dad takes it the wrong way and thinks it is me coming onto her," I retort.

"Well we will make _her_ break up with _him_ then. She will still fall in love with you and decide that she wants to be with you. Of course, you'll kick her to the curb afterwards," she replies.

"You really think that I have that type of influence?" I say.

"Eric, you fucking charm the panties off of every woman that you meet. Trust me, it will be no different or difficult with her," she says.

"I don't know," I sigh.

"We have to do this," she says firmly.

"Alright, fine," I respond.

"Good. You should start tomorrow. Unfortunately I cannot come for at least two weeks. I can cancel my last week of photo shoots, but I'm under contractual obligation for these next two weeks," she says.

"Whatever, Pam. Listen I'm tired and I'm going to bed. Goodnight and I love you," I tell her.

"I love you too," she says.

We hang up and I take a few more sips of my beer. Minutes later I finish the can. I decide to have another.

Hours and many beers later, I stumble back into the house and up the stairs. I turn right and towards the bedroom that I usually sleep in when I'm here. I open the door and it is pitch black. All the curtains are drawn. I stumble to the window, open the curtain and let the moon shine in to illuminate the room.

I spin around intending to fall face-first onto the mattress when I see someone sleeping on the bed. I squint my eyes; it's Sookie. She has a sort of half-smile on her face as though she is dreaming something good. One hand is above her head while the other is under her breast. She was wearing a white tank top. She looked so peaceful and beautiful.

She moves a bit causing the thin blanket to move down her hips. _She is wearing only panties!_

Even though I'm totally drunk, my cock hardens at the sight.

She moans a little. I almost groan. I should get the fuck out of there before something awful happens, but like some sort of trance, I walk to the side of the bed and sit down beside her.

I could smell the scent of hair and her perfect skin. I was using all of my willpower to keep myself from reaching down and touching her.

Painfully I get up, take one last look at her and leave to find another room to crash out in.

I lie down but don't fall asleep immediately. Did I want to hurt her? Could I hurt her? Those questions were going through my head as I let my slumber take me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sookie:**

I stretch my limbs and yawn. I look towards the window. It was a beautiful bright morning.

Suddenly it occurs to me, the curtains were open. _Hmmmm..._ I stare curiously at the window. I could have sworn I closed them last night before I went to bed. I shake my head, perhaps I didn't.

Just then I hear a knock on the door.

"Sookie? Are you awake?" Mikael asks as he slowly opens the door.

I was only in my underwear and tank top so I cover myself up with the blanket. It was ridiculous, I know. Soon he was going to be my husband and would see all of me, eventually.

"Yes I'm awake," I answer as he walks in the room.

He smiles and sits beside me on the bed. "I am making you some breakfast."

He rubs my arm. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yes I did. Thanks for asking," I answer.

He continues to rub my arm for a few more seconds. "Well I will let you shower and get dressed," he says. He gives me a peck on my forehead.

I smile at him as he leaves. I get up and go to the closet where I kept spare clothes. It looked hot outside so I grab a yellow floral sundress. Thank god it was Saturday. The kids in my class were getting so excited about the upcoming summer holidays and they were starting to become a handful to deal with on a daily basis.

Still only in my underwear and tank top, I peek my head out the doorway to see if there was anyone in the hall. This bedroom didn't have a bathroom so I was going to use the shower down the hall. Seeing no one, I quickly run down the hall and to the other bedroom.

I reach the bedroom, open the door and close it. I hear a groan.

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming," a male voice says.

I spin around quickly and let out a little yelp. It was Eric. He was lying on the bed with his hands behind his head. He was shirtless wearing only jeans. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of his bare muscular chest. He didn't have any hair, at least as far I could tell. His skin wasn't pale either, just slightly tanned. God he was gorgeous.

"What are you doing in here?" I almost yell.

"I was sleeping, until a beautiful almost naked angel came in," he replies, giving me a lazy grin.

I look down and my face flushes. Horrified, I immediately cover myself with my dress that I was clutching.

"Can you please leave?" I tell him loudly.

He just stares at me, not moving, with that stupid grin on his face.

"You're being very rude!" I tell him angrily.

He raises his eyebrow, "How am I being rude? This is _my _room and you were the one who came in here half-naked."

I stare back at him with my mouth open. "Well I didn't know that you were in here and I always use the bathroom in this room as a matter of fact."

"What's wrong with the one in the master bedroom? Wouldn't you would be using that since you are going to be married to my dad?" he says crossing his arms.

"I, I...I...," I stammer. Yeah why wasn't I using that bathroom? Maybe because in some way I still felt like a guest in this house. I _was_ still a guest since I hadn't moved in yet. That was another thing Mikael and I still hadn't talked about. When was I going to be in? Before the wedding? After the wedding? Oh my god. Just another issue I had to add to my growing list of unanswered questions regarding my fiancé.

I must have been standing there thinking for awhile because Eric now had a confused look on his face.

"Well I haven't moved in here yet," I say sounding unsure. "I don't sleep in there with your dad."

He looked taken aback. _Why did I tell him that?_

"Oh," he responds. He opens his mouth about to say something else but closes it.

He rises from the bed, picks up his shirt from the floor and pulls it over his head. I tried not to stare at his flexed biceps and stomach muscles.

"I will give you some privacy," he says as he glances at me before leaving the room.

"Oh Lord," I whisper.

I take a quick shower and head downstairs. I walk towards the kitchen and breakfast area where I could hear Mikael and Eric talking, speaking in another language, probably Swedish.

They stop and look at me as I enter the room. It was the first time I saw them together, almost side by side. They both smiled at me and it was the exact same smile. Their resemblance was uncanny. For some reason I felt a little uncomfortable.

"Hi," I say shyly.

"Good morning," they say in unison.

They sounded alike too. Things were getting weirder.

"Come sit Sookie. I have made you some strawberry waffles and sausages," Mikael says warmly.

They both stand up as I take my seat.

"Mmmmm it smells good," I comment.

For a few minutes we eat in silence only exchanging small glances at each other. Eric was sitting across from me.

"Eric decided to stay last night," Mikael says who was sitting beside me. He puts his hand over mine on the table.

"Yes I did. I just wanted to apologize to you again Sookie. I was way out of line with my comments. My dad has always been a good judge of character and from what I can tell, you are nothing but kind and honest. I should have trusted my dad's judgement instead of lashing out at you," he says sincerely.

I smile warmly at him. "It is okay Eric. I probably would have reacted the same way and I don't blame you. But believe me when I say that I truly love your father and I just want to make him happy."

He looks back and forth at us. "I want to see my dad happy as well."

"Good I am glad that you two have warmed up to each other. I hope that the two of you will become great friends," Mikael says squeezing my hand. I blush a little at his comment and I notice Eric shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"So how long are you staying?" I ask Eric, trying to relieve the tension in the room.

"I don't know, maybe until my dad kicks me out," they both laugh. "But really, I think I would like to stay here until Pam arrives. I haven't seen her for a few months. Plus I would like to spend a little more time with him (pointing to his father)."

"Oh, that's great. I'm sure Mikael would love that," I say.

"Yes I would love for you to stay a little longer Eric. I have missed both you and your sister," Mikael says.

We continue chatting and eating our breakfast. Once we are done, I get up and start clearing the dishes.

"Let me, Sookie," Eric says. "It's only fair."

"No Eric, it's alright. I've grown up with the rule in the house that whoever does the cooking, doesn't have to clean up afterwards," I tell him.

"But Sookie I didn't cook anything. And you are the guest here," he states.

"You are the guest too," I say getting somewhat irritated.

"But...," Eric says, but Mikael cuts him off.

"I will clean up the table," Mikael says, trying to resolve the situation. "Sookie, why don't you show Eric the garden that you helped plant in the backyard."

I let out a little sigh. "Umm okay. Eric would you care to see the backyard?"

"Sure," he responds.

We walk quietly out the French doors and into the back yard. I lead the way toward the little garden that I was growing with the help of a gardener.

"Do you like it?" I ask. "I was thinking about adding roses later on."

He looks around at the various blossoms, daisies, petunias, and marigolds. "It looks nice."

_Nice? _I guess he didn't find my garden too interesting. I go to sit on the wooden garden bench and he joins me soon after.

Eric continues to look at my flowers as I gaze at his profile. He was very handsome alright; much like his father. He also looked deep in thought and a little troubled. He probably was still unsure of me.

"So how many clubs do you own Eric?" I ask him.

"Uhh, I own two," he responds.

"Wow, that must be exhausting," I say.

"Not really. I am a bit of a night owl and my clubs open on different nights. So I am able to overlook both of them plus keep my employees working full-time."

He finally looks at me. "Dad told me that you are a teacher?"

I smile, "Yes I teach grade one. The kids in my class are great. Even though it doesn't pay very well, it is rewarding."

"That's good. I have met people who make tons of money with their careers but are downright miserable people. Many of them I know work with my sister," he says.

"Oh," I respond. So he knows a lot of models. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he knew a lot of gorgeous, tall, thin women. His girlfriend must be a model. I try to suppress the jealousy that was building up within me. I had no claim over him.

"So Sookie what do people do for fun down here in the south?" he says trying to lighten the mood.

"Ummm well we spend a lot of time with family and friends. Plus there are many places to go fishing and hunting," I answer.

"But what do _you_ like to do?" he asks moving a little closer to me.

My breath begins to shorten and my heart speeds up. I gulp. "Well, I like to read a lot and sunbathe. Plus I like to help out my Gran."

Eric inches a little closer. "You like to sunbathe? I enjoy that too but unfortunately it can get a little cold in Stockholm for that. Maybe I can join you sometime," he says, his voice almost like a whisper at the last part.

Was he trying to flirt with me? "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? My dad did say we should become _friends_," he says in a husky voice.

_What did he take me for? _I stand up, cross my arms over my chest and stare down at him. "Listen Buster, I don't know how men treat women in Stockholm, but down here in Louisiana, gentlemen treat ladies with respect. So if that is what you are not capable of then I suggest you steer clear of me till until you leave."

He looks up at me with a shocked expression and doesn't say anything.

When he doesn't speak I turn around and start walking towards the house.

"Wait Sookie," Eric calls out behind me.

I stop and turn around to face him with a scowl on my face.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour," he says apologetically. "Look I do want to be friends with you, after all, you are marrying my dad. I promise I will not act inappropriately towards you from now on."

I bite my lower lip unsure of what to say next.

"Do you think we can be friends?" he asks.

"We should try," I say. "It would make your father happy if we got along for his sake."

"Great," he smiles.

For the next week Eric and I were on friendly terms. It was the last week of school and I spent most of my free time with him and Mikael. I couldn't help but continue to compare the two of them. Not only did they look similar, but they shared common interests. They liked the same foods, the same type of music and books.

Eric did keep his promise. He always kept a safe distance from me and never said anything inappropriate. He also made me laugh. He told me many funny stories about his father when he was growing up. He also told me about his mother. Every time he did, I could see the sadness in his eyes that just made me want to reach out and hold him.

I had just finished up the last day of school with my class and we had a little party. I gave each of them parting gifts and told them to behave during the summer.

I finish packing up my classroom and drive home afterwards. I start to think about what to do next. It was the beginning of my summer holidays and now that I had more time, I needed to settle many things with Mikael. We needed to set a wedding date, talk about when I should move in, children, and especially, we needed to talk about sex. I had just begun my birth control pills but still he nor I made no mention of sex. Was it normal in a relationship when a couple doesn't talk about sex? I didn't think so but I wasn't sure. I definitely wasn't an expert in sex and relationships. Maybe he was old fashioned. Maybe also because his son was staying in the house. We hadn't spent that much time alone since Eric's arrival.

I turn left down the dirt road towards my house. As I reach it, I notice Mikael's SUV parked in front.

I turn off the engine, step out and walk into the house. I could hear my Gran laughing in the family room.

"Sookie? Is that you?" my Gran yells.

"Yes Gran!" I yell back. I walk into the living room to find Gran sitting on the sofa and Eric sitting in the armchair.

He stands up and smiles when he sees me; I smile back.

"Oh honey, you missed Eric's wonderful humorous story," she says still giggling.

"Hi Sookie," he says.

"Hi," I respond.

"Eric has been here for about an hour entertaining me," she gushes. "He is such an exceptional young man. Why haven't you and Mikael brought him over sooner?"

Eric looks at me waiting for an answer too.

"Uhhh well Eric's only been in town for about a week and Mikael and I have been so busy with work that we..." I ramble.

"Oh Sookie, don't start up with any excuses," she scolds. "Eric is family and he should have been introduced to me and your brother sooner."

"You're right Gran. I should have brought Eric here sooner," I sigh.

"It's not Sookie's fault," Eric intercepts. "I just wanted to spend some time with my father first since we don't get to see each other often. Plus I wanted to get to know Sookie as well."

"Well now that you are a part of my family, I hope that you will be visiting Louisiana more often," she says.

"Of course, ma'am," he says sweetly.

"You can call me Adele," my Gran says. I swear she was blushing.

"Adele," he says in a charming tone.

"I should start up on supper. Eric you are more than welcome to stay," she says.

"That would be lovely, thank you, Adele," he says.

My Gran's face brightens up as she goes to the kitchen leaving me and Eric alone.

"So uhhh... what are you doing here?" I ask.

"Well I was sitting around the house doing nothing but watching American television, which by the way is insipid. My dad was still at work. I knew the address of your house and got directions here as I drove. I wanted to visit you and your Gran. I thought I would have arrived in time to catch you coming off of work," he says.

"Oh, yeah I was packing and finishing up my reports. It took me longer than expected," I respond. I feel awkward. "Would you like to sit outside on the swing in the front?"

He smiles, "Yes I would like that."

He follows me outside and we sit beside each other slowing swinging away.

"So you must be glad that school is out?" he says.

"Yes, but it's a little sad. In September the kids will be in grade two and in a different class. I am going to miss them," I tell him.

We swing quietly for a few more minutes.

"How is work going in Stockholm? Has everything still been running smoothly since you've been away?"

He nods. "They are handling everything fine over there. I called Henrik this morning and he said business have been better since you've gone away."

I laugh lightly.

"Pam can't wait to meet you," he says.

"Really? I have been getting more nervous about meeting her. I really want her to like me," I say.

"Don't worry Sookie. You are a kind, generous, great woman. I can't imagine anyone not loving you," he says, gently putting his hand on my shoulder.

I gasp a little when he touches me. I could feel tingles going through my body.

"Umm... hey I can show you what Bon Temps and Shreveport have to offer now that I am off work," I nervously smile.

"I would like that," he responds.

The tingles continue to sweep through my entire body as he smiles at me. What was I getting myself into?

Another week goes by and I spend even more time with Eric. This time we spent more time alone during the day while Mikael was at work. I got to know him a lot better and we were fast becoming good friends which pleased Mikael. He told me about his life during university and in Stockholm. He told me about his past relationships including his most serious one with a woman named Sophie-Anne. I shared parts of my life with him as well. I told him about my inability to find a decent man until I met his father. Though I didn't tell him about my virgin status, I suspected he figured that out on his own. He even came over to help out me and Gran. He fixed some of things that needed to be repaired even though I insisted that he didn't need to. The more time we spent together, the more closer we became. It seemed I knew more about Eric than I did of my own fiancé.

We sit outside Mikael's home on a lazy afternoon with the sun shining down on us.

"Your dad says he is going to put in a pool," I say, glancing at Eric beside me.

"Why? I think a pool would just ruin the landscaping," he states. "Besides I think he is allergic to chlorine water. Last time he got into a pool, he got a huge rash all over his back. My mom had to apply a special lotion on him for a week." He laughs a little and becomes silent. He always got a little sad every time he mentioned his mother.

"I think he said something about a pool not filled with chlorine water. Don't you think it would be nice to go for a swim in your backyard?"

He thinks about it for a moment. "Nah. I prefer going to the beach and swimming. There is just something more natural about that."

"Well we can go swimming at the lake near my house," I say. "Of course when your dad is off work," I quickly add.

He raises his eyebrow and lifts his sunglasses from his eyes. "Sure."

We sit back again in silence until we hear someone's voice in the house.

"Daddy? Eric? Where are you?"

Eric gets up quickly. "Out here Pam!"

A tall blonde haired woman emerges from the house followed by an equally tall woman with dark brown hair.

She smiles and removes her sunglasses. "Eric!"

He races towards her and picks her up in a hug.

I stand there watching them.

"I missed you so much. We thought you were arriving tomorrow," he says as he puts her down.

"We wanted to surprise you," she says excitedly. That's when she sees me and her smile falters.

"Pam, this is Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie, this is my sister Pam," Eric says.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you!" I say, plastering on my nervous smile, my voice higher than usual. I put out my hand for her to shake but she grimly looks down at it.

"Pam," Eric says lowly.

"Hello, Sookie, it's nice to meet you," the dark haired woman quickly says shaking my hand. "My name is Amelia, I'm Pam's girlfriend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I say.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you too Miss Stackhouse," Pam says in a somewhat harsh tone.

"Pamela!" Eric says. "I'm sorry Sookie for my sister's rude behaviour."

"There is no need to apologize for me little brother," she says. "So you're the woman who is going to marry my father."

"Uhhh... yes I am," I smile.

"How old are you?" she says in a clipped tone.

"I'm almost 24," I respond quickly.

Her expression becomes even more darker. "So let me get this straight, you are only 24 years old and you are going to marry a man who is more than half your age? Tell me, what is it you expect to gain from this 'marriage'? Is it money? How much do you need? How much do I need to give you to get out of my father's life, you gold-digging whore?"

I stare at her shocked and shaken. I didn't know how to respond. Still trembling, I run inside, grab my keys and purse from the stand in the foyer, and run outside to my car. I could hear Eric calling out my name. I fumble with trying to open the door as tears blur my eyes.

Eric comes running outside, "Sookie wait!"

I don't pay attention to him as I start the ignition and drive off. I drive for about five minutes before stopping to cry more. Tears fall from my eyes. I lean my head against the steering wheel continuing to cry my eyes out.

Suddenly I hear someone tapping on the window. I look up and it was Eric. He had such a remorseful expression on his face.

I open the window, "What do you want Eric?"

"I'm so sorry Sookie. I knew Pam was still a bit angry but I didn't think she would act like that," he says.

"It doesn't matter Eric. Please leave me alone," I cry.

He opens the door and holds out his hand to me. I look at it not knowing if I should.

Finally I grab his hand and get out of the car. Immediately he holds me against his chest and I cry even more.

"Shhh..." he whispers gently into my ear.

I wrap my arms around his waist. This felt so right. Why didn't I get this feeling of completeness when my fiancé held me in his arms?

After five minutes, I finally start to settle down. I move my arms from his waist and place my hands gently on his chest.

"I got your shirt wet," I whisper, rubbing the wet areas.

"That's ok," he says softly.

He puts both of his hands on each side of my face as he gazes into my eyes. With his thumb, he wipes away the tears on one side of my face. "I don't like it when you cry."

I give him a weak smile. I knew what was going to happen next but I didn't want to stop it.

He slowly leans forward getting closer. His lips are barely an inch away from mine. Just as he is about to kiss me, we hear a car approaching.

Quickly, I break away from him.

It was Mr. Wilkins, the gardener who had helped me earlier.

"Good afternoon, Miss Stackhouse, Mr, Northman," he says. "Are you having some car trouble?"

"No," I say flustered. "I forgot something at the house and Eric was just giving it to me." I cringe at my words. "Giving it back to me. I left my purse at the house."

"Alright then Miss Stackhouse, Mr. Northman, have a good day," he says before driving off.

I breathe out deeply. Without looking at Eric, I get into my car, close the door and drive away from him. Thank god, he didn't try to stop me. What the hell was wrong with me?


	7. Chapter 7

**Eric's POV:**

I couldn't think of anything else to do but just watch her as she climbed into her car and drove away. _What the hell just happened? Was I finally losing my mind? Did I really almost kiss my father's soon to be wife? _I rake my hands through my hair in frustration, confusion, anger, lust, yes lust. Did that make me a tad bit disgusting? Lusting after a woman that my father was planning to spend the rest of his life with? Maybe... probably... YES! There was no doubt that I wanted to kiss her. Hell I wanted to do more with her than just kiss her. She was the most beautiful woman I had met and I had met _a lot _of women in my short lifetime. She was much more than just physically beautiful, but her heart and mind were equally unique.

A series of 'what ifs' run through my mind. What if I had gone that far? What would have happened next? I could imagine us driving off into the sunset together, despite how cheesy that sounded. But then a wretched feeling of guilt flows though me. In every scenario I knew the consequences would be dire. There would be no happily ever after without at least one person being hurt in the process.

I turn around and walk back towards my car. As I drive the short distance back to my dad's house, the turmoil still plagues my mind. I park the car and stare at the steering wheel for a few more minutes. I think back to Pam's plan on breaking up dad and Sookie which leaves me feeling even more disgusted with myself. I couldn't go through with that anymore. I couldn't imagine hurting Sookie like that. I could imagine betraying my father that way either. I loved him too much to do that. I probably even loved her as well. I made up my mind. If there was someone who was going to end up hurt, it was going to be me. I was going to start forcing myself to be happy for them and distance myself from Sookie. Fuck, just the thought of it left me clutching my chest in pain.

Eventually I get out of the car and head back into the house to find Pam and Amelia sitting on a sofa sipping on wine.

"You made sure the blonde bimbo left? I hope for good," Pam guffaws. Amelia looks at her sternly.

I was pissed off. "Pam, you will not talk that way about her anymore, do I make myself clear?"

"What the hell has your panties in a twist?" she retorts. "Serves the bitch right. I saw her 'car'when we pulled up in the driveway. Pretty hillbilly if you ask me. See, I knew I was right when I said she was nothing but a gold digging whore. She's probably angling for dad to buy her a new Mercedes or Porsche."

I was seeing red. I stomp up to her and pick her up from the sofa by the arms. "Shut the fuck up Pam! You don't know shit! You don't know anything about her!"

Any normal woman would probably feel fear and start crying with the way I manhandled her, but not Pam. She wasn't the type of woman that let anything scare her off easily. She stares at me with a smirk on her face. "You like her don't you? You really like her. You were gone for quite some time. Tell me, what happened between you two?"

I let go of her arms and I immediately feel guilt at the sight of her red arms. I step away from her. "Nothing happened but you really hurt her with your malicious words. She was only trying to be friendly towards you and the first words you have with her are nothing but insults."

She ignores my last comment. "Bullshit. I can see it in your face that you are keeping something from me. What happened? Did you kiss her or was it something even better?"

"I told you, nothing happened! She was completely devastated with the way you treated her!" I yell back.

"Pam..." Amelia says, trying to butt in, but she gets cut off.

"Liar!" she says eagerly. "You are making progress with our plan. This is great! Perhaps a few more days..."

"Fuck off Pam! There isn't a plan anymore. You will stay away from Sookie if you do not have anything polite to say to her." I storm off and head back to my room. I lie on my bed trying to clear my head. Maybe it would be best if I went back to Stockholm. I had taken so much time off work already. I had convinced myself that the reason why I had wanted to stay here for so long was because of my dad, but in reality, it was because I wanted to spend more time with Sookie. Fuck, if I was going to get over this whole thing, I needed to get the hell out of here. I call the bar and talk to my manager in charge who informed me that things were still running smoothly. I told him that I would back in a few days. After that phone call, I call my travel agent and get her to book me on the next flight back to Stockholm. My flight would be tomorrow evening.

Rather than going back downstairs, I stay in my room and fall asleep. I wake up several hours later to darkness outside the window. I grab my phone to check my messages. I wanted to call Sookie to make sure that she was alright, but decided against it.

After sending out a few texts, I head downstairs where I hear several voices in the living room. I could hear the sound of Pam's 'sobs' but I knew they were fake. She has never sincerely cried in her life other than when our mother died.

When I walk into the room, Pam and Amelia are sitting on one sofa facing my dad and Sookie. Sookie briefly looks up at me but turns her head away and stares at the fireplace. Dad's face looked grim while Pam had a few tears in her eyes.

"Son, you sister was just telling us about what happened with Sookie this afternoon," my dad says.

My heart starts racing in fear. What the fuck did she say to him? I take a huge gulp.

"Daddy..." Pam sniffles, dabbing a tissue on her eyes. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to be rude to Sookie. It's just that I was so shocked when I saw her. It took me by surprise. I guess I'm not really over losing mom and I'm afraid of losing you too!" She starts to cry full-on. If she ever decided on a career change, she could probably win an Oscar with her dramatic range.

Dad gets up and goes to comfort her. "Shhhh... my baby girl," he says rocking Pam gently.

"It's alright Pam, I forgive you," Sookie says. "I know that I can never replace your mother in your father's life or yours, but I would like to be friends." She gives Pam a genuine smile. God she was beautiful... shit, I should probably look away.

"I feel really bad about it," Pam goes on. "Luckily you had Eric to _comfort _you."

I could feel my face turning red and my heart galloping. I look at Sookie to see that she was having a similar reaction. "Yes," she somehow says calmly. "I was glad that Eric made sure that I was alright. Thank you Eric."

I gauge my father's reaction but he doesn't seem to suspect a thing. He was still looking at Pam and had one hand on her back.

Suddenly, someone's cell phone rings. My dad takes his cell out of his pocket and looks at the message.

"Well I have an emergency with one of my patients," he says. "He has been taken to the hospital. I need to go."

He walks towards Sookie, "I will be back in a few hours. Please stay for the night."

She briefly looks at me, "Uhhh I'm not too sure that's a good idea. I got a ton of things that I need to do for Gran in the morning. I can just call Jason or someone to come pick me up."

"Nonsense, since I was the one that brought you here, I will make sure that you get home safely. Eric will drive you home," he says.

"I have a few things I need to do..." I say at the same time Sookie says, "No I don't want to bother him."

"No Eric will drive you home. I would give you my car to take, but I don't like the idea of you driving alone at night," my dad tells her.

"Alright," Sookie says with an uncomfortable smile on her face. "I'll just go and get my things."

I grab the keys and walk out towards the red corvette that I bought for my father as a gift. I could hear Sookie and my dad trailing behind me, talking gently to her.

I walk around the car to the driver's side. I look to see my dad opening the door for her.

"Honey I am sorry about tonight and for what happened earlier," he says to her soothingly.

"It's fine," she says to him. "She's your daughter. She just wants to protect you."

"I love you," he says to Sookie.

I look away suddenly feeling the urge to gag.

"I love you too," she says.

Before I could hear anything else from them, I climb into the seat, shut the door and turn on the engine.

Sookie gets into her seat and buckles herself in.

"Drive safe Eric," my dad says to me.

"Yes sir," I say to him.

We don't speak for at least 20 minutes. I fiddle around with the radio in order to deal with the uncomfortable silence.

"Look Eric..." Sookie says at the same time I say, "About what happened..."

"You go first," she says.

"No you can go first," I say.

"No thats..." she says.

"Sookie I insist, you go first," I tell her.

"Well, about what happened..." she says with a little shake in her voice. "I think that our emotions were just running so high. I mean after what Pam said to me and about everything else... I think we just got so caught up in things and we were both confused."

"Yeah, I think you're right," I lie. "I don't usually deal so well with crying women. I don't know how to react."

"Oh," she says with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Well now that we have that clear, we can move on and forget about it. It won't happen again."

"Yeah it won't. I guess you'll be very busy these next few weeks planning the wedding and all. I'm glad to be finally heading back home. I've been neglecting my clubs this whole month. I need to make it up to my customers and especially my employees."

"Wait... you're leaving?" she whispers.

"Yeah, my flight leaves tomorrow evening. I figure it's time that I go home."

She doesn't say anything else but just stares out her window but I could tell that she was upset. The rest of the ride is silent and finally we pull up to her house. I rush out my door to open up the door for her.

She doesn't look at me but I can see the sadness in her eyes.

"Listen Sookie, you are a really great girl... woman. I'm glad to have met you and I am glad that you are going to be a part of our family. I wish for nothing but happiness for you and my dad," I choke out.

"Thank you Eric," she says. "I hope you will have a safe flight."

"Thanks. I guess I shall see you at the wedding," I say. I debate whether or not to hug her, but she makes the decision. She wraps her arms around my neck and automatically I wrap mine around her waist.

"See you later Eric," she says quietly. She removes herself from our embrace and runs into the house. I knew I was doing the right thing, but why did my chest have that same painful feeling?

**Sookie's POV:**

I run up to my room as I try to hold back the tears, but a few come out. I had made a decision that the incident that occurred earlier was a mistake caused by emotional stress. I liked Eric a lot. I enjoyed spending time with him. I loved listening to his stories and jokes. I loved the way that he made me laugh. I loved a lot of things about him. To top it off, he was absolutely gorgeous. Much more handsome than any movie star.

I listen to his car driving down the road and a few sobs escape my throat. I always knew that he would eventually leave but it still hurt. I didn't want him to go. It hurt a lot more knowing that I couldn't say that to him.

I walk towards my bed and sit down, letting the tears run down my face. I shouldn't be reacting this way. I was engaged to another man, his father. I start to feel disgusted and ashamed of myself all over again. I twist my engagement ring around my finger. I wipe the tears from my eyes.

"This is for the best," I whisper to myself. "I made a promise to Mikael that I would marry him. Despite my confusion over Eric, I know that I love Mikael. That's probably why I like Eric so much. He reminds me of his father."

I put my nightgown and climb into my bed, crying softly until I eventually fall asleep.

**Eric's POV:**

I could still feel her hot minty breath on my neck. I thought my dream with Sookie as the main star was over and that I was waking up but I still felt her hands caressing my back and one hand was making its way to my stomach, towards my morning wood. Hell I guess my fantastic dream wasn't over.

I think I had a stupid grin on my face as I bring my hand over hers as she starts to glide it lower. I kept my eyes closed not wanting to disrupt this awesome moment.

As her hand is finally reaching my cock, she speaks up, "Oh Eric, I missed you soo much," she says in a sultry tone.

I am about to answer back... _wait... wrong voice! _I quickly open my eyes and sit up backing away from the woman in my bed. I blink my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things especially the 90 pound, 5 ft. 3 inch redhead that I didn't want to be near right now.

"What the hell are you doing here," I snap at her.

She responds by chuckling as though I had made a hilarious joke. "I came here to see you silly. I haven't noticed you anywhere around at home. I had to ask a few people until one of your bartenders told me where you went. So I decided to surprise you by coming. I figured you must be very lonely here in this backwater town. And judging by your hard cock, I was right," she says trying to grab me but I push her hand away from my penis which was now slowly deflating.

I get up from my bed to look for my shirt on the floor. "Sophie, I don't know why you bothered to come here. We are not together anymore. I meant what I said to you, I don't want to be in a relationship right now. I have too many other things that I need to focus on right now."

"But Eric," she pouts. "You always do this at least once a year and I always give you time to yourself when you ask for it. But it's been four months since we were last together. I thought it was time for us to get back on track again."

"Well I don't feel the same way. I don't want to be with anyone right now. You're a terrific woman Sophie. Any other man would be lucky to have you in their life."

She stands up and walks towards me with an angry look on her face. "I don't any other man Eric, I only want you. I love you."

She puts her hands on my chest trying to get close to me, but I gently push her away.

"I'm sorry Sophie but I don't want you," I say gently.

Tears form behind her eyes. "I don't believe you Eric. We have been together for eight years! We have so much memories and history between us. That just doesn't go away overnight." She walks out the room and slams the door.

I let out a huge sigh and head to the bathroom to take a shower. After my shower, I go downstairs and hear laughter coming from the kitchen. When I walk in, Sophie and my father were sitting at the breakfast table.

"Sophie..." I say.

"Hey Eric. I was just telling your dad about how our eight year anniversary is coming up. He wants to throw a small party for us here," she says happily.

"But..." I say shocked.

"Eric, you didn't tell me that Sophie-Anne was arriving today. I am glad to see her and I have told her that she is more than welcome to stay," my dad says, grinning politely.

"She isn't..." I start to say but my dad speaks again.

"And since she will be staying, then I hope you will be staying for at least a few days more," he says. He walks up to me and pats me on the shoulder.

I see the hopeful look in my dad's eyes. I knew I couldn't refuse. "Of course dad, I will stay an extra few days."

I take a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen island and pour myself a glass of orange juice.

My dad is still chatting with her. "I hope you found Eric's room easily. I'm not very traditional and won't object to you staying in his room with him."

I was about to suggest that Sophie-Anne sleep in a different room when she comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist.

As I am about to remove her arms from me, Sookie walks into the room. She looks at me and Sophie-Anne with a mixture of shock and hurt.

Sophie unwraps her arms. "Hello, I am Sophie-Anne, Eric's girlfriend," she says as she walks up to her.

Sookie still looks hurt but she quickly recovers. "Hi, my name is Sookie," she says as she shakes Sophie's hand.

"Sookie is my fiancé," my dad adds as he stands beside her, putting his arm around her waist. I struggle to hold back the jealousy.

"Oh congratulations!" Sophie says. "Eric didn't mention that you were getting married Mikael. I guess it must have slipped his mind."

"Our relationship and engagement is fairly new," my dad tells her.

They chat for several more minutes before I finally decide to take Sophie away and ask her what the hell she was doing until Sookie speaks.

"Mikael, I have to go to Jackson for an overnight trip tomorrow for my cousin Claudine's wedding anniversary party. She moved it up one week because next weekend Colman will be taking her to New Orleans. Will you still be able to come with me?" she asks.

I grip my hands so hard that my knuckles were turning white. I was raging with jealousy right now. The only thing that I could see was her and my dad in a room in some fancy hotel, white candles all over the room, Sookie wearing a red negligee, my father kneeling before her pulling down her lacey red thong...

"I'm sorry Sookie but I can't. The patient that I went to see last night needs emergency open-heart surgery. It cannot be postponed," he says to her.

"Oh," she says disappointed. "That's okay, the surgery is much more important. I can drive up there by myself."

"What about Tara? Can she go with you?" my dad asks her.

"Ummm no, she's working tomorrow and the day after. It'll be fine, I can go there alone."

"Nonsense Sookie," he says. "I don't want you driving all the way there alone. Maybe Pam or Eric can go with you."

"Mikael there's no need..." she says.

"I will take you Sookie," I blurt out. Shit, did I just say that?

She looks at me shocked. "But I thought you were leaving tonight."

"I had a change of plans," I respond.

"Oh that's a wonderful idea Eric!" Sophie says. "Now I can see what this side of the country has to offer. I love road trips!"

I glare at Sophie-Anne. "Dad, Sookie, could you excuse us? I need to talk to Sophie privately."

I put my hand on her back and drag her up to my room.

I shut the door. "What the hell are you doing Sophie? I told you that I didn't want to be with you!"

"Yes I heard you what you said, but like I said, I don't believe you. I know you need time Eric. I think if we spent time together then you will remember how happy we are together and how much we love each other."

"But I don't love you!" I yell.

"Why are you acting this way?" she retorts. "Is it because of blondie downstairs? I saw the way you were looking at her!"

"Sophie..." I clench my fists in frustration. "This has nothing to do with her. I don't know what else to say to you because it seems like you're ignoring what I am saying. You need to leave. You can stay here tonight but I want you to leave tomorrow. If you need money for a plane or bus ticket then I will be happy to give it to you."

"But Eric..." she says.

"No more, Sophie," I say exasperated as I walk out the room.

I walk downstairs to the terrace and see Sookie on the ground tending to her little garden.

I walk towards her and she look up, giving me a sad smile.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," she says sadly.

"I don't," I respond. "She was my girlfriend until we broke up, but for some reason she still thinks we're together even though I have told her time and again that it's over between us. I didn't know that she was going to show up here."

"Oh," she says. Her expression changes to uncertainty. "Did you really mean what you said inside? That you would come with me to Jackson tomorrow?

"Yes, that unless you don't want me to come?" I ask uncertain as well.

"No, of course I would like you to join me," she says with a smile on her face.

"Okay, I'll pick you up in the morning."

She nods and goes back to tending her garden.

I walk back to the house. Pam was standing by the door with a shit-eating grin on her face. "One whole night alone with her... I guess you're back in the game. Good work brother," she says before walking away.

I groan out loud. One whole night alone with her... I was so fucked!

**A/N: Finally an update with this story! I apologize for not writing a chapter. I had to re-read what I wrote (because I forgot) LOL in order to figure out what should happen next. **


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